Fire breaks out at Marriott hotel in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A fire broke out Thursday at the Marriott hotel in the Pakistani capital, five months after the building was devastated by a truck bombing carried out by Islamist militants.

Ahmed Shah, a doorman at the hotel, said the fire apparently broke out in a restaurant kitchen, though a spokesman for the hotel said the cause of the blaze was not yet known. Renovation work was continuing in parts of the building.

Thick smoke was seen billowing from a section of the second floor of the building in downtown Islamabad.

Firefighters were tackling the blaze, witnesses said. There were no reports of any causalities.

The hotel reopened in December last year after extensive repairs following the September bombing.

The blast killed more than 50 people and was a reminder of the militant threat facing Pakistan.